WATCH: Rescued Sea Lions Released into the Ocean

By Jennifer Mishler | October 15, 2013

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I don’t know about you, but the videos of rescued wildlife being released back into the wild never fail to make me smile. They happily swim, hop, or run back to their homes after suffering who-knows-what at the hands of humans, and being rescued by kinder humans. What’s not to love?

This video is no exception. A group of sea lions washed to shore in Peru injured, when they were rescued by the Organisation for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Animals (ORCA). The conservation group rescues, rehabilitates and releases a range of marine animals including dolphins, turtles, otters, whales and sea lions. They also spread awareness about issues facing the animals of the sea, including human impact on the oceans and marine mammal captures for captivity.

These six sea lions, now back in their ocean home, had been injured by humans and some were poisoned. According to Huffington Post, ORCA reports that humans account for 80% of the reason for marine mammal strandings in Peru, adding “It is through human actions that the impact on marine life may be reduced.”

It remains unknown who hurt the poor pinnipeds, but sea lions are often targeted by fishermen because they consume fish. The U.S. federal government even allows them to be captured, branded and/or killed on the Columbia River, where they have been named a threat to salmon populations. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say it’s not sea lions who are overfishing the oceans, but I digress…